Former doubles
world number one
Jamie Murray is concerned about the future of doubles in
tennis. The doubles
category has been one of the oldest categories that have remained an integral
part of the tennis calendar.
However, Murray, who won two Grand Slam titles in
the doubles, was recently quoted in a report where he highlighted where things
are going wrong.
“I read the
article and said to a lot of the doubles guys that it’s sad but I agree with
him. I feel double is losing its purpose or value on the Tour,” he said.
“I don’t know
what the outcome will be, but I think it’s not a great path we’re going down
now because it feels like some people wanna kill us, I don’t know (he laughs).
It just feels like it’s slowly going downhill and eventually, people are just
like ‘It sucks, we don’t need it.
“It just
doesn’t do anything for us.’ Whereas, actually, with a bit of care and
attention, you could elevate it and bring more value to the Tour. I sent a
document to them with all the issues I see. And things that don’t cost money to
change.”
Murray further went
on to highlight where the problems are and how the authorities need to find
ways to have better scheduling in place.
“The double
tournament should start on Sunday and its final should be on Friday, because
some players don’t want to stay until Sunday because they’re thinking of the
next tournament,” he said.
“The Masters
1000 is a big problem because you’re playing the doubles tournament over twelve
days which is just ludicrous. Five matches across twelve days is just crazy. So
I think they should be starting double on day 1 of the main draw, compress it
so the final is next Thursday or Friday.
“Singles
players don’t want to wait seven days for the final if they lose in the first
round in singles. That, for me, is a no-brainer: enhance the opportunities for
these guys to finish the tournament. That’s also valuable for the tournament to
keep them longer because the fans will come and watch. There’s a lot of little
kinks that could be smoothed out with a bit of care and attention.”
